Basketball Betting

Rondo could be the difference in NBA Finals

Basketball Betting Lines

06/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA Finals kick off tonight with more than a little star power to lean on.

The Lakers can throw Kobe, Pau and Khloe Kardashian's husband at you, while the Celtics can answer with "The Boston Three Party," consisting of the "The Big Ticket" Kevin Garnett, "The Truth" Paul Pierce and Jesus Shuttlesworth himself, Ray Allen.

If you add a celebrity row at Staples Center that will surely feature Leo, Denzel and Jack, you know ABC's crew of Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy will certainly have plenty to talk about.

The one star who seems to be on Joe Pesci's pay-no-mind list, however, could very well be the key to the series, Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo.

Originally selected 21st overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 draft after forgoing his final two seasons at Kentucky, Rondo was traded to the Celtics along with Brian Grant for a 2007 first-round pick and cash.

Let's just say, things have worked out for the C's.

After playing a supporting role in his rookie season, Rondo was thrust into the spotlight during Boston's most recent championship run in 2007-08.

Boston basketball chief Danny Ainge had remade his team that offseason, and there were only two questions asked about what looked like a loaded Celtics team on paper. Could future Hall of Famers Garnett, Pierce and Allen co-exist? And, could a second-year point guard with no jump shot, Rondo, really take Boston to the promised land?

A 17th NBA Championship banner answered both questions rather emphatically.

Things were a bit different during last year's postseason.

Garnett, the team's leader, was gone with a nagging knee injury and the C's best bench player at the time, Tony Allen, was spending the majority of his time dodging questions about death threats.

Expected to take on a bigger role, Rondo exploded despite a cranky ankle and foot, becoming a virtual triple-double machine in the playoffs.

After putting up a a playoff career-high 29 points in Game 1 against the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, Rondo amassed triple- doubles in Games 2 and 4, becoming the first Celtic player with multiple triple-doubles in the same series since Larry Bird in 1986. In Game 6 against the Bulls Rondo recorded a career-high 19 assists without a turnover, tying an NBA playoff record.

In the next round against the Orlando Magic, Rondo's third triple-double performance in Game 2 helped secure a win and tied Bird's franchise postseason record. However, the Celtics couldn't overcome the absence of Garnett and eventually succumbed to the Magic despite Rondo's Oscar Robertson-like 16.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game in the postseason.

Garnett is back this year for the Celtics and it's no coincidence the team is in the NBA Finals again, hoping to earn a record 18th championship by besting the Lakers for the second time in three years.

The defensive-minded Celtics went into the 2008 finals with a simple game plan: make someone other than Kobe Bryant beat them. The Lakers' superstar was double- and triple-teamed every time he touched the ball with the intent of getting it out of his hands. Meanwhile, LA's frontline, minus the oft-injured Andrew Bynum, was beaten up physically by Garnett and Company, and Pierce did the damage on the offensive end.

This time, LA is the favorite

As things get ready to kick off in this year's finals on Thursday, the Lakers have home-court advantage and their center, albeit a limited one in Bynum, as well as a defensive stopper, Ron Artest, to help curtail Pierce. Skilled big man Pau Gasol also proved he was mentally tougher in last year's finals against the Magic's Dwight Howard.

If the Celtics hope to win this time around, it will be Rondo who will have to carry the water against an aging Derek Fisher.

"[Celtics coach] Doc [Rivers] allows him to have freedom. Any point guard that a coach trusts with freedom, that's something special," former NBA star Chris Webber said in a conference call when discussing the finals. "You see how they can run plays right out of their fast break, so he can push the ball in the fast break and has the presence of mind to come back out and make great decisions. Any time you have a guy who causes matchup problems, where he can get a rebound and push it with his speed and quickness, that's special."

It's the ultra-quick Rondo's ability to get on the boards that really shows up against most point guards and his floor game and decision-making seem to improve on a daily basis. The book on him is simple, sag off and make him take that suspect jumper but that's far easier said than done.

"I haven't really had a chance to look at him, aside from just mere entertainment, watching games," Bryant said of Rondo. "He's really turned into a helluva player."

Fisher, is the weak link of this Lakers team on paper, lacking the quickness at this stage of his career to stick with the upper-echelon point guards. If Rondo can force Phil Jackson to use Bryant along with reserves like Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar early and often to try and slow Rondo off the dribble, the Celtics will be on their way.

Rondo did tweak his back in Game 6 of the East finals against Orlando, however, and anything that hinders his mobility will help the Lakers and Fisher greatly. As easy as it is to poke holes in Fisher's game at this point, few players are willing to take more big shots down the stretch of a close game. Fish has ice water running through his veins late and turns from a detriment to a big-time positive in the Robert Horry mold as the clock ticks down.

It will be Rondo's job to outplay Fisher so badly in the first 46 minutes that Jackson won't even considering using him in the final two.

"In 2008 [people] were saying they were lucky to have won with Rondo to this year, where if Rondo doesn't play well they won't win." Webber said. "He is the most important part of that team and we need to refer to the Big Three as the Big Four now because of his impact."